Developing Civil Society in the Non-state Sphere: Welfare and Rights-based Organisations Associated with Ethnic Armed Groups in Myanmar

Armed groups are usually seen as threats to humanitarian action but less attention has been paid where they provide assistance to constituent populations. Ethnic armed groups (EAGs) in Myanmar have developed associated welfare organisations that perform this role. This article argues this is due to EAG social embeddedness and flexibility to changes in sources of funding and support, and the influence of their relations with international humanitarian organisations. This article further contends a subset of advocacy, health and education organisations have evolved to form a nascent civil society within the political and social non-state sphere of some established EAGs.     

Historical and Political Background to the Erosion of the Rule of Law and Human Rights During Sri Lanka’s Civil War and the Way Forward

The Sri Lankan Civil War (1983–2009) is regarded as a violent reflection of deepening divides along political and ethnic lines. During this civil war the Sri Lankan Government and its security forces have been implicated in unlawful killings carried out in a pervasive manner against civilians, whilst at the same time specifically targeting ethnic Tamils, humanitarian workers and journalists. The human rights of all citizens suffered as a result and ultimately led to the weakening of the rule of law. With the end of the civil war, the Sri Lankan Government has made little progress in providing accountability for wartime abuses. Its absence of and reluctance to ensure justice is seen as a logical culmination of decades of impunity. The importance of acknowledging historical behaviour and taking accountability for past violations will be discussed. In an analysis for paving the way to a new democracy in Sri Lanka, the main outcomes of this article are calls for accountability arising out of the government’s actions during the war; an investigation into the present state of human rights, the rule of law and finally; an examination into the political solution going forward to ensure a process of reconciliation and peaceful co-existence.     

Development of proxy relationships: a case study of the Lebanese Civil War

Proxy warfare is a consistent element in international warfare. However, it is unclear why proxy relationships form in cases where states have multiple options of groups to support. Existing research identifies the presence of transnational constituencies, shared interstate rivalries, and moderate relative strength of militant groups as highly influential on the development of a proxy relationship. This study examines the presence of these variables within the context of the Lebanese Civil War. The results of this demonstrate that each state places greater importance on some variables and ignores others when choosing a proxy. Additionally, this study further demonstrates the presence of new variables that are key to the development of proxy relationships.     

基于路径规划的无人机飞行冲突解脱技术

在无人机与有人机共用空域时,随时可能发生飞行冲突,应当有一种可靠的冲突解脱技术,保证无人机的空域运行安全。为此,构建了基于正三角形栅格法的空域运行环境,改进了以往十字栅格环境规划动态路径的缺陷;提出了基于空间分割的改进蚁群算法,提高了算法的寻优性能与路径规划能力。最后结合ADS-B系统的工作原理,在利用卡尔曼滤波对ADS-B信息进行修正的基础上,设计了无人机冲突感知的技术方案,并用实时的路径重规划技术实现飞行冲突的解脱。最终的仿真实验验证了飞行冲突解脱技术方案的有效性,可为未来无人机的空域运行技术提供一定的理论参考。     

无线传感网和神经网络的民用火药贮存在线监测系统

针对目前绝大多数火药仓库的温度、湿度控制由于采用人工操作导致对温湿度不能实时精确监控从而导致火药失效的问题,设计了一种基于无线传感网和神经网络的火药贮存在线监测系统。该系统将无线传感网络终端节点实时收集到环境温度和水分信息传给神经网络控制器,根据神经网络控制模型实时调节火药贮存温湿度控制设备的各个参数,实现对火药贮存环境温湿度的自动化和实时精确控制,提高火药贮存的可靠性和经济效益。     

一般民用建筑火灾特点与起火部位认定

从建筑火灾特点出发,阐述了建筑火灾发展阶段的蔓延特点、烟气流动特性与起火部位的内在联系,说明这些建筑火灾特点对起火部位的认定作用。     

高层民用建筑消防安全隐患及对策

随着高层民用建筑的不断增多,其消防安全问题受到社会各界广泛关注。从消防安全隐患的产生、消防管理、建筑地下部分的火灾危害、消防部队装备几个方面分析了高层民用建筑的消防安全隐患。从把好建筑设计、审核、验收关,强化消防安全管理,强化消防宣传教育,加强消防产品与消防工程施工的监管,完善灭火救援体系等方面提出了提高高层民用建筑消防安全的对策。     

Subcontracting State-Building

Abstract

Contemporary development assistance often takes the form of subcontracted state-building. Foreign donors hire for-profit firms to provide services and to improve or create institutions in developing countries, particularly those experiencing internal conflict. This arrangement creates two counterproductive dynamics: first, it introduces agency problems between donors, recipient states, subcontractors, and citizens; and second, it undermines the long-run development of domestic bureaucratic capacity by creating disincentives for the host government to invest. These dynamics hinder, rather than foster, the legitimacy of state institutions. This paper summarizes trends in external support to state-building since the 1970s and illustrates subcontracted state-building with examples from Colombia.     

The resource-conflict debate revisited: Untangling the case of farmer–herdsman clashes in the North Central region of Nigeria

The resource debate is easily discerned as part of the ongoing history of farmer–herdsman conflict in the North Central region of Nigeria. Scarcity theorists are adept at linking scarcity with the onset of livelihood conflict while on the other hand resource abundance pundits insist it is profusion and not scarcity that impels conflict. This article traverses these wrangles and proceeds to downplay the resource polemic altogether. It is proposed that the resource debate, despite its profoundness, presents a narrow reading of farmer–herdsman clashes in Nigeria’s North Central region. It is suggested that a number of other factors, including elite land grabbing, ethno-religious identity construction, weak state capabilities, the citizenship question, corrupt traditional institutions, the lack of an effective land tenure system and a widespread culture of impunity, make for better readings of the conflict. Owing to the negative impacts of the conflict on state and society, it is recommended that the state in Nigeria should commit itself to addressing the citizenship question, strengthening the capabilities of security institutions, extirpating the culture of impunity and revaluing its policy on land redistribution.